


Service Call

by ReminiscentRevelry



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Parental Roy Mustang, Royai if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReminiscentRevelry/pseuds/ReminiscentRevelry
Summary: Ed's automail leg breaks during a meeting and Winry has to visit Eastern Command to fix it.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell, Riza Hawkeye & Roy Mustang
Comments: 6
Kudos: 301





	Service Call

Among the many things Ed hated about automail, having to get it serviced was what he hated most. Winry would get upset over it being broken and while she made it sound like she was upset about the automail (which she was, slightly,) Ed knew it was because she was worried about him and Al.

Normally, he could get to Resembool to fix it. This time, though, Winry was going to have to come to East City because his leg was damaged during a mission and he could barely walk.

“Okay, I think that’s good enough,” Mustang said, setting Ed’s report on a stack of papers. “You’re headed to the dorms?”

“Yeah, Winry is there with Al,” Ed said, tapping his leg. “The sewer water messed it up.”

Mustang sighed. “Even I know you need to dry it immediately, Fullmetal,” he said.

“Yeah, well, that’s kinda hard to do when you’re chasing an idiot through the sewers,” Ed snapped. “Can I go now?”

Mustang nodded, waving him away, already turned to his paperwork when he heard a thud in front of his desk. He looked up, not seeing Ed, though the door was still shut.

“Damn it,” came Ed’s voice from in front of his desk. He was slumped on the ground, face in the carpet.

“Fullmetal?”

“It gave out.”

“What?”

Ed lifted himself up enough to glare at Mustang. “The _stupid_ leg gave out. I can’t move it.”

Mustang sighed and got up, ignoring Ed’s confused spluttering to pick him up beneath his arms and hoist him onto the couch.

“Hey!” Ed glared at him.

“You really can’t move it?”

Ed looked at his leg, frowning. His foot didn’t shift when he wanted it to, his leg didn’t straighten when he tried. “Damn it,” he muttered.

Mustang opened the door to the outer office. “Havoc,” he said. “Can you find Al and Miss Rockbell?”

“Something wrong, sir?” Havoc asked.

“Fullmetal’s leg is broken,” he said. “Unless someone wants to carry him to the dorms, they can do the repairs here.”

Havoc poked his head in, grinning at Ed, who was scowling at Mustang. “Be back in a bit, then, sir. Hold tight, Chief!”

Ed crossed his arms, reluctantly sinking into the couch. “I could get to the dorms,” he muttered. “Al could help me. Winry doesn’t need to come here.”

Mustang shrugged, sitting behind his desk. “That would take longer,” he said. “Maybe Miss Rockbell can convince you to be less reckless.”

“I’m not reckless!”

“You followed a murderer into a sewer,” Mustang said, “and chased him across the city without backup or your brother. You should be glad it’s just your leg that’s damaged, Fullmetal.”

Ed scowled, looking away. Neither said anything for a while, the only sound coming from Mustang’s pen as he worked. With the door open, Ed could see Feury fiddling with a radio, Falman reading something, Breda and Hawkeye hunched over a map. Hayate was sleeping under Hawkeye’s desk, but he barked right before the door opened.

“Brother!”

“Edward!” Winry rushed over, her toolkit on her back. “What did you do to break it this time?”

“You just assume it’s my fault?” Ed snapped.

“Who else would it be?” Winry said, hands on her hips.

“It’s not like I did it on purpose,” Ed grumbled.

He frowned at Havoc when he winked at Ed as he brought over a chair for Winry. He helped her clear Mustang’s coffee table and propped Ed’s leg on it.

“No wonder it isn’t moving,” she said after she pulled away the plating. “It’s completely soaked. You know you can’t go swimming, what were you doing?”

Ed faltered when he caught her eye, turning away after a second. “None of your business, Winry,” he growled.

She shook her head. “Why do I even bother?” she mumbled. “It’s not like you tell me anything anyway.”

“This one he actually can’t tell you about,” Mustang said, sitting on the couch across from Ed. “Military business, I’m afraid.” Arms and legs crossed, he watched her disassemble Ed’s leg with veiled interest.

Winry looked at him. “I thought Ed and Al were researchers,” she said.

“For the most part, they are,” he said. “Sometimes we need their help, though.”

“That... seems dangerous.” She was focused on Ed’s leg, carefully laying out the pieces she pulled out on the table.

“We try to keep him from the more dangerous parts,” Havoc said, sitting beside Ed to watch her work. “Sometimes the orders come from above the Colonel. Though it doesn’t always stop him from rushing in.”

“If Al can’t stop him from being dumb, I don’t think you had a chance,” Winry said.

“Hey!”

“You’re welcome to prove me wrong, but until you do, I stand by what I said!” Winry looked up, surprised to see that Mustang’s team had gathered around to watch.

“Sorry, we just don’t normally see automail being serviced,” Feury said.

“Or anyone challenging the Chief and not getting knocked through a wall,” Breda added.

“She’d just hit me with a wrench,” Ed said. “Crazy gearhead.”

“Alchemy freak,” Winry returned automatically. “I don’t know how long you had this underwater, but if it were any longer, you’d need a new leg. You’re lucky the plating wasn’t loose.”

“Yeah, yeah, lemme guess,” Ed said as he waved a hand, “I gotta do my maintenance and dry it off and all that.”

“You need to be careful twisting the joints,” Winry said, “or using this leg to land. The mechanisms are going to jam if you’re not careful.”

“What happens if the mechanisms jam?” Feury asked.

“Loss of fine motor control, to start. The toes aren’t moving like they should already because someone-“ She twisted her screwdriver in Ed’s foot. “-likes to launch himself off of Al every time they fight. Eventually, the ankle will lock up and refuse to twist, and then the knee won’t move at all.” Winry looked at Ed as she spoke, tapping each part with her screwdriver. “Then you’ll be stuck here again while Granny and I make a new leg.”

“Fine, I’ll be more careful,” Ed muttered.

“You’re an angel,” Havoc said to Winry, jabbing a thumb toward Ed. “You got him to say he’ll be more careful.”

“I can still kick your ass, Havoc,” Ed growled. Havoc smirked, ruffling Ed’s hair. 

“Saying it and doing it are two separate things,” Mustang said. 

“You know he launches himself off of Al?” Feury asked.

“The first thing they do when they finish their repairs is spar in the yard,” Winry said. “Even though I’ve told you both _numerous times_ not to. Can’t you just stop fighting?”

“That’d be nice, but it’s not that easy,” Ed growled. 

At Winry’s confused blink, Mustang said, “He has a tendency to find people who have gone against the State. Unfortunately, they don’t come quietly.”

“It’d be nice if they did,” Al said.

“I’d rather focus on our research than fighting idiots,” Ed agreed. As soon as Winry put the plate back in place, he wiggled his toes and hopped to his feet. “Finally! Thanks, Winry!”

“Do your maintenance!” she said. Ed waved it off, following Al to the outer office and waiting by the door. He talked to Mustang’s team as they dispersed, Havoc laughing and Al holding Ed back from jumping him.

Winry shook her head again, almost fondly, as she packed away her toolkit. “They’re just magnets for trouble.” She looked at Mustang. “Thank you for watching out for them.”

He blinked. “It’s my job to look out for my team,” he said like it was obvious. 

“Maybe, but Ed doesn’t like to let people watch out for him.” She snapped her kit shut. “He and Al don’t tell me what they get up to or how he messes up his automail so badly because they don’t want me and Granny to worry about them. Knowing that he’ll let his guard down around you and your team is nice.”

Mustang stood and looked at his team, at Hawkeye blocking Havoc and Ed, Hayate circling Feury and Al, Falman and Breda watching them from their desks. “It took him a while,” he admitted, “but he’s done a lot of good for us.”

“For the military?”

“For the people,” Mustang corrected. “He has a knack for finding people who want to cause trouble for the State, but he’s good at helping people who need it. It makes sense that he’s the Hero of the People.”

“Your nickname,” Winry said, hesitating, “it was the Hero of Ishval, wasn’t it?”

He let out a dry laugh. “A very different sort of hero, Miss Rockbell. Thankfully, more aspire to be like him than me, these days.”

Winry looked at him, surprised. “You aren’t proud of Ishval?” she asked softly.

He tilted his head, thinking before looking at her. “Ishval wasn’t a war the way we tout it as,” he said. “Most of the soldiers from Ishval have regrets from the conflict. State Alchemists turned the tide in Amestris’ favor, but it cost us.”

“It almost destroyed Resembool,” Winry said. 

“It destroyed Ishval,” Mustang said. “Resembool got a chance to recover, at least.”

“Recovery doesn’t bring back what we lost.” Winry’s voice was quiet, her knuckles white around the handle of her toolkit.

“No, it doesn’t.” She watched him look at his hand, turning it over to look at the circle embroidered on his glove. “We can’t turn back time to change the past. All we can do is press on.”

“Winry, come on!” Al called from the door, where he was holding Ed away from Havoc.

“Coming!” she said, hoisting her kit onto a shoulder.

Mustang snorted, holding out his hand. “Thanks for fixing him up,” he said. “Until next time, Miss Rockbell.”

She shook it, steady and firm. “Try and keep him out of trouble until then, Colonel.”

“I’ll do my best.” 

He watched as Al set Ed down, his attention shifting from Havoc to Winry in an instant. His team went back to their desks when the door shut and he sighed, sitting down and spinning his chair to look out the window. Ed was gesticulating wildly as he talked to Al and Winry, Winry laughing as she followed them.

“Do you think Edward will ever tell her how often that automail has saved his life?” Hawkeye asked, standing behind him.

“I doubt it,” Mustang said. “She doesn’t realize how dangerous his life is.”

“I hope she doesn’t,” Hawkeye replied. “It’s unfortunate enough that Ed and Al had to grow up so fast.”

“The world’s a dangerous place,” he said. “The sooner kids grow up, the sooner they can handle it.”

“She doesn’t have to handle much of the real world in Resembool,” Hawkeye said.

“For now,” Mustang murmured. “They’ll grow up in time and the world will be waiting.” He glanced at Hawkeye before turning back to the window.

She smiled at him, following his gaze to the three teenagers on the lawn. Ed and Winry were laughing, and she imagined if she could hear them, she’d hear Al’s laugh, too. “We don’t normally see Edward acting like a teenager,” she said. 

“Some would say he gave up that privilege when he joined the military,” he replied. 

“Maybe,” Hawkeye hummed. “But it’s nice to see him relax a little. You’d think the weight of the world was on his shoulders most of the time.”

“In a way, it is.” Mustang tapped his fingers together. “He considers Alphonse his world and the responsibility of restoring their bodies as his weight to bear.”

Hawkeye watched him, studying his expression. He was forlorn, regretful, like he was once again blaming himself for something. She put a hand on his shoulder.

“They’ll grow up in time,” she murmured. “For now, let them be kids. Once Winry is gone, he’ll go right back to work.”

“He should visit her more often,” Mustang said. “It’d be good for him. For both of them.”

“After he and Al get their bodies back, they will. Until then, he needs to stay focused.” Hawkeye stepped away, pausing by his door. “They chose their path, Colonel, the same as the rest of us.”

The door swung shut behind her but Mustang didn’t turn back to his desk, instead pulling off his glove to look at the circle, running his thumb over it. To himself, he murmured, “I wish they hadn’t.”

With a shake of his head, he turned back to his desk and dropped the glove in a drawer. He knew better than anyone that the brothers would carry the burden of their mistake forever. He may have been the one to push Ed to join the military, but he wished, not for the first time, that they’d had someone to guide them earlier. That he’d visited Resembool earlier. That he’d done more in Ishval than create swaths of destruction.

But like he’d told Winry, it was impossible to turn back time. All he could do was press on. Picking up his pen, he started in on a stack of paper, trying not to think about the past. There were things he had to do, people he had to protect, and it started here.

**Author's Note:**

> Initially this was just Winry meeting Team Mustang while fixing Ed's leg and then Roy took the reins because he usually does. This is what I get for writing when I should be sleeping. Also, I like the idea that Havoc is like an older brother figure to Ed.


End file.
